Otokar
Otokar, a sub-division of Koç Holding, is a Turkish manufacturer of buses and military vehicles headquartered in Sakarya, Turkey. History Otokar began business in 1963 as Turkey's first intercity bus manufacturing company under license from Magirus Deutz of Istanbul. Otokar was noted for manufacturing the most modern buses and modern intercity vehicles for that period. During the 1970s, Otokar launched air-cooled minibuses with Deutz AG engines. During this period, Turkey's largest Conglomerate, Koç Holding purchased the majority of Otokar shares. Within its mass transportation strategies, in early 1980s, Otokar added the inner-city bus to its product line. In the early 1980s Otokar began inner city bus production and in mid-1980s Otokar manufactured the first Turkish armoured vehicle as an armoured car. In 1987, the Turkish Armed Forces had Otokar manufacture military Land Rover Defenders in Turkey in an agreement with Land Rover, of the UK. In early 1990s, Otokar developed the Otokar Armored Personnel Carrier, Otokar Akrep, and Otokar Cobra; Turkey's first 4x4 light-armored tactical wheeled vehicles by combining its armor technology with its experience in military vehicles. In 1997, Otokar moved to its new plant in Sakarya, Arifiye, Turkey. In 2002 Otokar acquired a trailer and semi-trailer production company from Koç Group Company of Istanbul Fruehauf A.S. Later in 2002, with its experience in public transportation Otokar developed the small bus called the Navigo which is marketed in Turkey as the Sultan brand. In 2003, Otokar initiated a cooperation with Singapore Technologies Kinetics (STK) for the new 8x8 tactical armoured vehicle Otokar-Yavuz. In 2005 Otokar widened its line of armoured vehicles. On March 30, 2007, Turkey's "Defence Industries Executive Committee", the joint, government-military, body on major defence industry projects and contracts, decided for the country's "Under secretariat for Defence Industry" to launch negotiations with Otokar on the eventual contractual agreement to develop and produce Turkey's first indigenous tank. These negotiation began on April 6, 2007. In 2008, Otokar purchased the assets and land of fellow Turkish-truck manufacturer Otoyol and merged it into Otokar. Vehicles Buses Otokar bus]] Otokar manufactures several buses for civilian mass transit use. The M-2000 is a 14 seat minibus and touts its durability, long life expectancy and low operation cost. Its line of Navigo buses range from the Navigo 125L with 25 seats and 6.3 m in length to the Navigo 160SE with 31 seats at 7.1 m in length. The smaller buses using the Deutz engine and the larger model using the Cummins 160 HP Euro IV diesel engine. The larger more luxurious models have a 45 litre refrigerator, hostess seat, announcement system, optional additional heater and optional double layer glass, DVD, VCD, MP3 player and LCD TV systems. Since April 2007, Otokar has also started to manufacture a new 9 meter, rear engined bus called Doruk in Turkey, and Vectio in other markets. Otokar is the bus supplier for Inter Trust of Bulgaria. Trailers Otokar manufactures a wide variety of trailers and containers for carrying textiles, refrigerated foods, heavy mechanical goods, hazardous materials, and motor vehicles. Utility Otokar, under Land Rover-UK license, produces several Land Rover variants and models. These include the Land Rover Defender 90, Land Rover Defender 110, and Land Rover Defender 130 for use as utility, ambulances, and rescue vehicles. Military Octokar produces wheeled military vehicles for the Turkish Armed Forces as well as other countries. *MİTÜP Altay - the Turkish national main battle tank *Otokar / Land Rover - 40 variants of the Defender 90, 110, and 130. *Otokar Armoured Personnel Carrier - for use also as an ambulance or armoured workshop. *Otokar Cobra - a 4x4Army Technology - Cobra - Wheeled Light Armoured VehicleCobra - Light Armoured Vehicles - Jane's Land Forces *Otokar Akrep - a 4x4 special attack/defense vehicle. *Otokar Discreetly Armoured Station Wagon - looks like a standard Land Rover but with an armoured body structure that meets the military standards. *Otokar Engerek Special operations vehicle. *Otokar Kaya Mine Protected Vehicle. *Otokar Kale Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle. *Otokar Yavuz - 8x8 tactical wheeled-armored vehicle. Its design is based on the AV-81 Terrex. *Otokar Armored Internal Security Vehicle - for a usage in urban and residential areas with variants equipped as command vehicles, personnel carriers, explosive ordnance disposal vehicles, reconnaissance / surveillance vehicles, and water cannon vehicles. See also * Military vehicles * List of Bus Manufacturers References / Sources *Otokar of Turkey *Company Profile *Article about Turkish Defense companies External links *Otokar official web site Category:Bus manufacturers of Turkey Category:Military vehicles Category:Companies founded in 1963 Category:Motor vehicle manufacturers of Turkey Category:Otokar Category:Licensed Land Rover Category:Companies of Turkey